1.3million OAPs ‘are not eating enough’

MORE than one million pensioners in Britain are either malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.

The scandal now affects around one in 10 over-65s, research shows.

It is thought that around 230,000 people over the age of 75 struggle with the mechanics of eating, such as cutting up food, while a further 1.9 million people find it hard to eat because of dental issues.

Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing also suggests that hundreds of thousands of older people regularly skip meals to save money.

Dianne Jeffrey, chair of the malnutrition taskforce, said: “It is shocking that 1.3 million older people suffer from, or are at risk of malnutrition in the UK.

“The root of the problem doesn’t just lie with poverty. There are other contributing factors which add to the risk – a lack of ability to shop, eat and drink at home without help, as well as loneliness and poor physical and mental health.

Telltale

A couple of days of not eating can have serious physical effects for older people.

“This is why we are appealing to everyone to look out for telltale signs at Christmas-time that might mean an older person is not eating enough or needs help to shop for, or cook meals.”

Malnutrition is thought to cost health and social care teams around £13billion, but experts predict that figure will rise thanks to our rapidly ageing population.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We must do all we can to avoid older people becoming malnourished, and better diagnosis and detection is key.

“We are committed to training all health and care staff to spot the early warning signs so effective treatment can be put in place. NHS England has produced guidance to address malnutrition.”